Vitamin D supplementation does not improve symptoms in people with psychosis

A new study involving 149 participants found no evidence that taking a vitamin D supplement for six months improved mental or physical health symptoms in people with psychosis

The trial, published in JAMA Psychiatry, involved 149 patients with early-stage psychosis who were randomly assigned to take vitamin D or a placebo for six months

The research was funded by the Stanley Institute for Medical Research and supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) South London

While the study showed no evidence that vitamin D supplementation improved physical or mental health symptoms, it revealed that 74.

People with mental illness are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D than the general population

No previous study has examined vitamin D supplementation in patients with first-episode psychosis, who have a higher rate of vitamin D deficiency (42%) and who may respond more strongly to vitamin D supplementation than those with confirmed psychosis

The study's lead author, Professor Fiona Goran, said: "While we did not show any effect of vitamin D supplementation in mentally or physically healthy individuals with early psychosis at six months, vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency were very high overall, This status was almost universal in participants from black or other racial or ethnic minorities

"These very high rates of vitamin deficiency and insufficiency may have long-term negative health effects that we have not measured, so it is important to raise awareness about optimizing vitamin D for people with mental illness

The study recruited participants aged 18 to 65 from five NHS trusts in the UK between 2016 and 2019: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Cheshire and Wheeler Seoul Partners NHS Foundation Trust, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partners Trust, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

Participants were randomly assigned to receive monthly injections of 6 ml of vitamin D or a placebo by the investigator via an oral syringe

The researchers assessed the participants after 3 and 6 months for any changes in their psychotic symptoms, and also measured mood, functional and cardiometabolic risk factors after 6 months

Professor John McGrath, from the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, said: "While animal studies suggest that low levels of vitamin D in adulthood alter brain function, defence research has found no evidence that vitamin D supplementation helps people with early-stage psychosis.